The present invention relates to a vehicle construction and, more particularly, to a motor bogie or carriage for a vehicle powered or driven by a linear motor means.
Motor vehicles powered by linear motor drive sources have been proposed wherein a linear motor means is directly suspended from a shaft of the vehicle bogie or carriage. For this purpose, for example, pairs of suspension means such as, for example, mechanical journal bearings are mounted on shafts of the vehicle, with a primary apparatus of a linear induction motor, including an iron core and a coil unit wound on the core, being suspended from the suspensions under a floor of the motor vehicle, and with the secondary means of the linear induction motor such as, for example, a reaction plate, being disposed on a vehicle support means such as the ground. Generally, the secondary apparatus includes an integral iron plate and aluminum plate.
It is possible to change a position of the primary and secondary means and, for example, when the secondary means of the linear induction motor is mounted on the carriage or bogie, the primary apparatus is arranged on the support means. When either of the primary or secondary means is rigidly suspended from the shaft means of the wheel assemblies of the carriage or bogie, a distance between the primary and secondary means remains unchanged and, consequently, the operating characteristics of the linear induction motor becomes very stable. However, when the linear motor means is rigidly mounted on the shaft means of the wheel assemblies of the bogie or carriage of the vehicle, the shaft means are prevented from rotating about their respective centers in a horizontal and vertical plane. Consequently, the ability of the carriage or bogie of the motor vehicle to follow the vehicle guide rail is disadvantageously significantly reduced.
Moreover, as the linear motor means is suspended directly from the shaft or shafts of the carriage or bogie, considerably large bending moments act on a central portion of the shaft or shafts.